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Fake Inspections Can Cost Real Lives

As long as there have been regulations, there have been unscrupulous individuals and organizations cutting corners. When those regulations involve safety, the outcome can be the loss of human life and innocent people suffering serious injuries.

This is an unacceptable but all too real state of affairs in New York City, where corners cut during our construction boom have left construction workers, residents, and innocent bystanders at risk.

"Richard Marini, 62, ran a company called Avanti Building Consultants, which was supposedly staffed with licensed safety managers who could inspect building sites. But not only were Marini's inspectors unlicensed, according to Vance, they also had no experience in construction safety at all, in most cases.

Marini scoured Craigslist and paid bellhops, musicians and short-order cooks to simply sign off on safety logs in their own names, or forge the names of licensed safety inspectors-one of whom was dead. Avanti Building Consultants inspected about 40 sites.

"Today's sentencing should serve as a warning to those who might seek to cut corners in order to turn a quick profit in this real estate market," Vance said in a statement."

Will this serve as a deterrent? We hope so, but we're not going to hold our breath. Corners will be cut and people will get hurt. If that happens to you or a loved one, you can rely on Block O'Toole & Murphy to make sure people and corporations are held accountable for their negligence.

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